Nearly 100% of Americans want more solar

It’s unanimous — or about as close to it as you can come in a diverse, highly populated country like the United States: A new national poll shows that the vast majority of Americans support development and funding of solar energy. Moreover, their support for solar has remained consistent over the last three years.

These and other findings were reported in the 2010 SCHOTT Solar BarometerTM, a nationally representative survey conducted by independent polling firm Kelton Research.

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The survey found that 94 percent of Americans think it is important for the U.S. to develop and use solar energy. This strong support for solar remains unchanged since Americans were asked the same questions in the August 2009 SCHOTT Solar Barometer (92 percent) and June 2008 SCHOTT Solar Barometer (94 percent).

This support for solar power is consistent across political party affiliation with 92 percent of Republicans, 98 percent of Democrats and 94 percent of Independents agreeing that it is important for the U.S. to develop and use solar power.

Furthermore, four out of five Americans feel that Congress should reallocate federal subsidies away from fossil fuel industries towards renewable energy industries. Broken down by party affiliation, 86 percent of Democrats, 69 percent of Republicans and 81 percent of Independents feel this way. Americans understand the urgency of growing the solar industry themselves; nearly half (49 percent) of Americans currently considering solar power options for their home or business plan to make a decision in less than one year.

When asked to choose one energy source to financially support if they were President, 45 percent of Americans would opt for solar over other sources such as wind (19 percent), natural gas (12 percent), nuclear (12 percent) and coal (2 percent).

“According to this poll, solar energy is more popular than puppy dogs or ice cream. It is time for policymakers to listen to their constituents and enact measures to rapidly increase our use of solar,” said Rhone Resch, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association.

When asked to choose one energy source to financially support if they were President, 45 percent of Americans would opt for solar over other sources such as wind (19 percent), natural gas (12 percent), nuclear (12 percent) and coal (2 percent).

Nearly half (49 percent) of Americans indicated they would be willing to pay more for solar energy. In fact, the cost of solar is already on par with traditional fossil fuel options in several markets, and continues to drop as the industry scales up.

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About The Author

Christof Demont-Heinrich is founder, creator and editor of SolarChargedDriving.Com, which he launched in September 2009. A journalism professor at the University of Denver (DU), Demont-Heinrich is a lifelong environmentalist who loves to bird, hike, camp, and bike. As passionate as he is about the environment -- and about promoting the synergy between solar power and electric cars, he is equally passionate about writing.